Au revoir 2014, hello 2015!

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Well...12 months have already passed by. How time flies!

Before we officially say goodbye to 2014 and welcome 2015, I shall do a short summary of the major events that occured in the year 2014. Presenting to you...2014 IN REVIEW!

January
I started Junior College (my school starts in January, slightly earlier than the other JCs which start in February.) New classmates, new format of learning, and a definitely heavier workload.
Then Chinese New Year came about, which means loads of good food for the whole of the 3 days. And I played with sparklers!

February

February was pretty much...not exciting. Just school, homework, tests, and assignments. Well one cool thing was that our geography teacher brought her rocks & mineral collection for us to see. :)

Biopolis!

March
In March, my friends and I (namely, Xin Hui and Juliana) attended this talk at the Biopolis. It's a really cool place.
Then the end of Term 1, and during the 1 week term break, I went to the iLight at Marina Bay with Xin Hui, Juliana and Kimberley. :) You can see the video I made by clicking here :)
And also, the rehearsal for the Guitar Concert which took place in April!















April
It was the start of volunteering at Gardens by the Bay! (GBTB for short)
I then went to the Tulipmania floral exhibition at Flower Dome at GBTB, and you can click here to see the photos I took :)
It was also the opening ceremony of Kaleidoscope, a biennial arts and cultural in our school. Since it takes place once every 2 years, it was the last Kaleidoscope I was attending as a student of the school :( I think for the workshop, I went for this Capoeira workshop? It was really cool (Brazilian martial art!) but I'm not cool enough for that yanno
Then came the most anticipated event in Guitar Ensemble of the year...guitar concert! If you know, I was in the dance club in school since Primary 5 so I have been performing quite a lot. But playing the guitar on stage is a totally different experience :)

May
More volunteering at GBTB. There was this once my classmates and I stayed really late and we watched the pretty light show at the Supertree Grove! It was amazingg.
I also went to see the French Faire floral exhibition, and more photos can be seen here :)
As for school, it was quite a busy period. We had a farewell party (we call it the Handover) for seniors, as they leave Guitar Ensemble. Also, there was the preparation for school's Open House! 
Then came the end of Term 2 and Semester 1. I always say Term 2 is the most fun and exciting term of the school year, and looking back, I think my words are indeed true. :) 

June
June was a month-long of holidays. And revising, as there were exams right away when school started again in July.
The most life-changing event of June was probably watching the World cup and getting into football. It was the first time I watched football properly, staying up past 12am and waking up at 3am to watch the matches. :)
There were more volunteering, including some story-telling sessions! Which were really fun, with my friends and classmates.
I went on a photo trip with some of the other shutterbugs in my class to the famous Lalang field here in Singapore, which you can read more about here.
And another a photo trip to MacRitchie Reservoir!
I also had a fun day under the sun with my classmates (okay not really, we spent the day in the mall mainly)
June was really really fun and I enjoyed everything very much, which was probably why I sort of neglected my studies...

July
Oh the horror of Mid-Year Exams! Although there were only 4 content subjects that I'm taking, the amount of notes and contents to go through is insane.
After my exams, I did more volunteering work at GBTB and another story telling session :)
I also went to the Persian Garden floral display.
And I attempted taking photos of the fireworks for the first time! Click here to see the photos!
There was also my school's Sports Carnival, which was fun-ish except I didn't really participate in the games and spent most of time playing by the sea hehehe...

August
My family and I visited the newly opened Sports Hub! You can read more about it here :)
And we did volunteering during the school's celebration of National Day. We collected food donated by the students of the school beforehand, and packed them into bags for distribution to the needy families of a neighbourhood near our school. I thought it was a really meaningful event, and seeing the smiles on the faces of those families brought a smile to my face too. (An old lady even treated us to some cold drinks! How nice of her :)
I also crashed (or rather, joined) Photography Society's photo trip to the museum, since I was free that day. :) Seeing the exhibition Genesis was probably the highlight of the day, as all the black & white photos of the landscape and wildlife which was really interesting. And that made me want to travel to so many places sooo badly!
I also attended a National Geographic talk (located all the way at the west at NTU!!!) with some of my friends. The talk was quite an eye-opener as it involved many underwater photography and the animals photographed are sooo cute. Squeals hahaha.
Juliana and I went to Singapore Night Festival after school. It was really cool watching the performances on the street, until it started pouring...here's are some exclusive and unreleased photos taken that day! /inserts laugh cry emoji/

To be honest, the lights from the cars' headlights plus the rain would make some really nice photos...

September
September was pretty much about preparing for the Promotional Exams which took place later in the same month. (Well, life of a SG student...exams, projects, assignments, etc)
There was the Teacher's Day celebration, where we played games with the teachers and ate tons of chips and other snacks yummm. I also went back to my primary school after 4 years of not going back and met my Primary 5 form teacher. She remembers me!!! I was so happy hahaha.
The National Stadium tracks were opened for the public! Hence I grabbed the chance and went running with Juliana! I only ran 1.6km though, as it had been long since I last ran/jogged so I didn't want to push myself.
And well...the month ended off with the Promotional Exams.

October
October...finally the end of exams! And that means the start of the preparation for the oral presentation for Project Work (PW). For PW, I made my first ever "draw my life" style video! It was quite a cool experience :) in fact, I filmed a total of 2 videos! And since the preparation usually lasted about half a day, my entire month of October was filled with me plugging my phone into the classroom speakers to play the music on my phone, and me getting frozen yoghurt after school.
We always have these "marking days" after our exams at the end of the year, where we don't have to go to school. And hence I went to Tampines Eco Green with Juliana!
Oh and a very important thing: I watched my first live football match ever! It was a friendly between Brazil and Japan. The atmosphere inside the stadium was really great and the entire experience was exhilarating to the point it felt surreal hahaha...
October was also the start of Food Adventure with Juliana, where we go every where to hunt for food :D

Selfie at the National Museum!

November
End of oral presentation and the end of PW! I had lunch (Fish & Chips at Fish n Co!) with my classmates, and then a karaoke session. Yep, it was a fun day!
There was more museum-hopping (I go to the museums so much it's kinda...scary HAHAHA), and the crashing of Juliana's house. The last time I crashed Juliana's house was in October, with Xin Hui, where I fixed and tuned Juliana's 20-year-old guitar. #CertifiedGuitarFixer
So this time, 2 other friends of Juliana, Yu Xuan and Kimberley, were also there. They played Five Nights at Freddy's, since it was rainy and dark outside. Then we decided to play something that's easier on our heart: Monopoly. And Min Hui totally dominated the game.

Juliana at the National Museum!

I also went to ION Sky with Juliana, and took photos of the Christmas lights at Orchard Road :)
And I finally played badminton after so long! It was fun but I realised maybe I really am bad at sports... :(

And not forgetting...watching a football match with the whole of my family! Yes, including my little sister hahaha. It was the Group B match of the AFF Suzuki Cup, between Singapore and Malaysia. It's really nice to see everyone coming together to support Singapore. :)

December
Last month of the year!!!
Before I went on my solo trip to China, I met up with Xin Hui to watch Penguins of Madagascar, and watched Mockingjay Part 1 in the afternoon. I can say that I enjoyed both movies :) Penguins of Madagascar is really funny, and the baby penguins are so cute eeek! Mockingjay Part 1 is definitely a darker movie, and some scenes really gave me chills.
About my solo trip to China...it was awesome! Wuyishan is so beautiful, and I love Xiamen's weather! Read more about the trip here. :)
Another significant event in December; in fact, it is a milestone in my life; is that I turned 18! :D



And what a year 2014 has been! I always felt that my life is routined, and sometimes mundane. But looking bad, my life has quite some happening every now and then! And that reminds me of this quote:

"Enjoy the little things in life because one day you'll look back and realise they were the big things."

― Kurt Vonnegut

Yes, there surely are some things that I have not written on here, but they're all the little puzzle pieces, which piece together this amazing picture of 2014.

And on that note, I wish everyone reading this post a Happy New Year!!!

Elsa :)

EIGHTEEN!

Hey guys!

So I recently celebrated my 18th birthday (on the 15 December) and I think turning 18 is quite a milestone. Hence, I shall put those travel posts on hold and do a little blog post about this. :)

This is me, just over a month old, I believe :)

To be very honest, I don't really feel 18 yet. (Like, I am an adult now. Whaaaaaaat?) It felt like it was only yesterday when I celebrated my 17th birthday. I know many people take their 18th birthday very seriously and celebrate by throwing a big party. So...

Here's how I spent my 18th birthday.

Before I slept, Juliana told me many of my friends couldn't spend the day with me because of many reasons and I was actually feeling a bit disappointed. The next morning, I woke up at 10.20-ish, and rushed out of the house to meet Juliana at Suntec City for the movie Paddington which starts at 11. And miraculously, I arrived in time for the movie. The movie is really cute. As a bear-lover, I just wish so much that I have a Paddington Bear in my life too.

During lunch time, while I was looking at the ridiculous (yet cute) birthday card Juliana made me, which has many rather creatively done Photoshop, Xin Hui popped out of nowhere and I was shocked. I legitly thought that she was watching movie with her other friends, and didn't expect her to turn up.

Actually, I did wonder if Juliana was bluffing me when she told me she was the only one who was free that day. However, Juliana is usually a straightforward kind person and I dismissed that thought. Well, now you know how sneaky she is.

While making our way to the karaoke, Xin Hui and I decided to head to the toilets, while Juliana held our stuff for us. And after going to the loo, Min Hui appeared too. #IAmSoDoneWithSneakyJuliana. But it was a pleasant surprise seeing both the Huis (see what I did here hohoho) We then had a 2 and a half hour of jamming to songs, where Rapper Juju finally unleashed her skills. And then third surprise of the day. I suddenly felt something furry below my arm. I looked down and saw the fluffiest alpaca plushie ever. /inserts squealing and excited jumping/ And it's wearing a flower crown. So yeah, thank you guys for this hipster alpaca. (which I named Truffle :)

Dinner was a simple meal with my family, featuring my favourite Xiao Long Bao (small buns) And my cake an ice-cream cake with a Pooh on top #BearLover. :D Overall, it was a great day spent with my family and friends.

I am very thankful for these 18 years of living on this Earth. These 18 years have been filled with happiness, changes, challenges, sadness, disappointment, all sort of emotions and experiences. These 18 years have been amazing, and I wouldn't change my life in any way.

Once again, happy 18th to me (although it has been almost 10 days since my actual birth day.) Ending off this post with another photo of the Baby Me. :)

Elsa

China 2014: Day 3 (Xiamen)

A trip to Xiamen isn't complete without a visit to Gulang Island (Gulangyu). :D

Gulang Island, which translates literally to "Drum Wave Island", got its name from the drum-like sound produced when the waves from the sea hit a rock at the seaside. (The rock is named Gulang Rock therefore.) It is an offshore island located just off the southwest of Xiamen, and you gotta take a ferry to reach there. Gulang Island is also nicknamed "The Piano Island", as many musicians were/are from there and the island has the highest concentration of pianos in China. There are also many architectures with different style, due to the historical factors. And these buildings have been preserved, adding charm to this beautiful (albeit touristy) little island.

All right. I shall not bore you with all these things which you can find on search engines. I shall jump straight into my day at Gulang Island!

It was another warm and sunny day. And this time, it wasn't as windy as the day before at the beach. There are many cute cafes, small (also really cute) eateries, and even cuter gift shops selling accessories, plushies, etc. My cousin and I spent the day just wandering around, eating so much food, and taking way too many photos. (Just a warning, this post contains more than 80 photos xD)

Milk tea! With popcorns placed in a tray on top of the milk tea bottle. This is really creative. And both the milk tea and the popcorn taste really good.

Candy shop! You get to choose a container of your choice and fill it up with candies.

A really cute cafe.

The display outside a gift shop!

You can pen down your thoughts or wishes on the post-its and paste on the wall. Alternative, you can write a postcard there and they'll post it for you. I think. (Pictured below)

Bought this checked skirt and jumper ages ago and finally I had the chance to wear them #IWasVeryHappy

I have a thing for red bricks.

All the colourful buildings (!!!)

I have a thing for alleyways too.

More red bricks!!!

Oh, how I wish I lived there.

As much as I don't like cats (sorry), this furball was just curled up there and enjoying the afternoon sun. Too cute to not take a photo. (It didn't want to look at me though.)

There's never such thing as too much for red bricks.

Sunlight Rock! (Ri Guang Yan) It is the highest point in Gulang Island. Look at all the people up there!

We decided to get tickets to visit Shu Zhuang Garden (Shu Zhuang Hua Yuan), as the famed Piano Museum is located inside it. The tickets also double up as postcards, which I thought is pretty cool. Like, you can save the money of buying postcards. :D From inside the Garden, you get the "iconic postcard" view of Gulang Island (pictured below). The place is reallyyyyy big. I am so envious of the people who used to live there. The are 2 galleries to the Piano Museum. Unfortunately, the main one was under renovation. The other gallery has an amazing exterior, and the piano collection is exquisite. Sadly, no photography is allowed. There are so many amazing piano, some really aged, some with unique and unusual designs. There is this piano where the keyboard is split into 2 sections, each perpendicular to the other one. Like, how do you even play that? :O Sigh, if only I could play on one of those pianos...

Iconic postcard-ish view.

iPhone panorama!

The Piano Museum!

This looks like the perfect house to live in zomg.

The view from inside the gallery. Now you know why I said it's the perfect house to live in.

Another shot of Sunlight Rock!

After walking around Shu Zhuang Garden, we decided to grab some food, then head to the must-visit Sunlight Rock. On the way to Sunlight Rock, we saw some people playing football at a field. (Yay for the beautiful game). And, the golden hour that day was so, so amazing. The golden hour and sunset in Xiamen were so amazing for the 2 days I was there.

Cute dog which I couldn't get a proper shot of...

Sweet potato? Potato? With pineapple, broccoli and cucumber. It was yummy.

Some fried potato thingy which was yummy too.

Look at that lightttt.

Juice in a milk bottle? Pretty interesting.

Fishballs!

Golden hour! Asdfghjkl.

That lighttttt.

And it was all (yellow) golden.

This photo isn't sharp SIGH.

When we reached the foot of Sunlight Rock, the sun had begun to set. I was really hoping to catch the sunset on the summit, and hence we hurried up the rock/mountain/hill. That's when I realised how out of shape I was/am. It wasn't even 100m above ground (92.7m to be exact), but I was panting so heavily. Anyway, when we finally made it to the summit, we were greeted by the breathtaking panoramic view of Gulang Island bathing in gorgeous golden light, and the skyscrapers of Xiamen.

The sea. The sky. The buildings. I am so in love.

Xiamen in the background!

Some people taking selfies, and I took a photo of them :)

iPhone panorama!

It was really windy hence...Tumblr shot! Kinda...?

Eeeeekkk.

We didn't actually stay on the summit for the entire sunset. However, as we were descending the hill, we caught the sun going down the horizon. It was so beautiful. The sky got dark really quickly afterwards. We had dinner, which was Sha Cha Noodles, a speciality in Xiamen. As we walked to the jetty for the return ferry, the lights from the buildings in Xiamen were so pretty so I had to take photos.

Dinner!

City lights + water = prettiest things

It was really windy and hence I was almost bundled up like a dumpling.

And that's the end of this post! Gulang Island is such a charming and beautiful place, and I thoroughly enjoyed my day exploring the place. :)

Elsa